Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball suffered a gruesome ankle sprain during the Lakers' overtime loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night and had to be helped off the floor.
Ball will be sidelined for four-to-six weeks with the injury, but Kyle Kuzma said that the second-year floor general was actually relieved that the injury was not worse, according to Bill Oram of The Athletic.
While Kuzma said that Ball is in good spirits, Lakers head coach Luke Walton had a slightly different take, stating that Ball is “emotionally devastated right now,” per Oram.
Ball had eight points, 11 assists and three rebounds in 22 minutes before exiting the loss to the Rockets.
On the year overall, the 21-year-old is averaging 9.9 points, 5.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals over 30.3 minutes per game while shooting 40.6 percent from the floor, 32.9 percent from three-point range and an abysmal 41.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Keep in mind that Los Angeles is also still without LeBron James and Rajon Rondo, so the team is now without its three best ball-handlers and creators.
For a Lakers squad that is currently 25-22 and one loss behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, these injuries could not have possibly come at a worse time.
Los Angeles has been reeling without James, going just 4-8 since he went down with a groin injury during the Lakers' blowout win over the Golden State Warriors on Christmas.
The Lakers will battle the Warriors again on Monday night.
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